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PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is unavoidable when impacted by overwhelming traumatic events...such as the likey results of gang fueding and warfare and the fear, incarceration, loss, injury and deaths that result.

Symptoms include nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, paranoia, constant dread, stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal feelings, exagerated startle reflex (constant compulsion to look quickly over shoulder to see who's around).....these are the symptoms shared by gang members who have variously wounded another, killed another, had a friend wounded or killed, witnessed extreme violence or been a victim of violence and intimidation

PTSD was once called 'Shell Shock' after soldiers came back from the trenches during the first world war. The belief was that soldiers had been shocked by shell blasts. Soldiers who became so traumatised that they went crazy, were seen as cowards and shot dead.

In the decades that followed, soldiers with PTSD wee seen as cowards and lacking moral fibre.

It is only in the last few decades that we have began to understand the effects of trauma on human beings properly, through extensive research especially following the Vietnam war. NO gang member is so hard as to avoid PTSD - the only exemption is psychopaths!

PTSD will INEVITABLY be endemic and widespread in communities which are suffering over generations because of gang culture brought about by the nefarious politics of neglect demonstrated by governments to poorer communities.

Untreated PTSD can exacerbate concerns of revenge and keep the cycle of violence keep moving round

I suffered from this badly for years after being physically, mentally and emotionally abused/tortured by an ex over a period of several years. I never wanted to leave the house and had bad anxiety attacks. I went to a program for victims of domestic violence for a long time. It took alot of work for me to get past it.

“Nobody's perfect. We're all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels.”

Garf wrote:G's- You have prob. seen stuff- traumatic- How do you deal with ptsd? Does it effect your daily life? Anyone heard of "project roadway" Well, I figured maybe this could be of use since we all bleed.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

What Is It?Posttramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a serious, potentially debilitating condition that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a life-threatening event, such as a natural disaster (Hurricane Katrinia), serious accident (deadly smash up on the fwy), terrorist incident (World Trade Center), sudden death of a loved one or homie (Iraq/Gang violence), war or violent personal assault, such as rape.

While most people who experience such events recover from them, people with PTSD continue to be severely depressed and anxious for months or even years following the event. They frequently re-live the event through flashbacks and nightmares. Relaxing, concentrating or sleeping may become difficult. They often feel detached or estranged from loved ones.

PTSD is diagnosed: after a person has been experiencing the above symptoms for at least one month following a traumatic event. Sometimes symptoms of PTSD do not appear until several months or even years later.

Treatment:Treatment of PTSD can include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), group therapy, exposure therapy, and medication.

Other Facts:7.7 million Americans age 18 and over have PTSD.

67% of those exposed to mass violence have been shown to develop PTSD - a higher rate than those exposed to other types of traumatic events, such as natural disasters.

People who have experienced previous traumatic events run a higher risk of developing PTSD.

Garf wrote:G's- You have prob. seen stuff- traumatic- How do you deal with ptsd? Does it effect your daily life? Anyone heard of "project roadway" Well, I figured maybe this could be of use since we all bleed.

do you got a link to this "prohect roadway"... I googled it and found nothing... and being a sufferer of PSTD,,, it would be nice to have some relief.

thanxz guys. I don't know what happened or what got involved, but around 17, early 18 I started showing some type of symptoms. can't sleep flash backs and delusions. I tried seeking help from my loved ones and they told me nothing happened to me. almost three years later i'm still on meds, but once I have an episode of some sort it never comes back. after I rember what happened my emotions go wack. and then I get over it.

i thk im sufferin from that shit...if i ever get money ima try to c some doctor to help my shit..i ain twitchin or nothin..n i ain 100% of the time paranoid

but i stay being paranoid...goin thru alot of beef and near death experiences that some were caused by close frends makes me feel like paranoid that someone is gon smoke me everywhere i go, soemtimes i cant even party tht good in the club coz i feel like someone who i roughed up way back mite be there or somthin.....wen i have a grill people who try to mad dawg me i feel like they gon come back n pop at me....
n i feel like everytime i fight a nigga he gon wana kill me......but ow im better off since i moved to Htown

ive seen alot of dead bodies and alot of people in my family died off diseases n shit...so everytime i get sick i feel like ima die or somthin. but its not that bad..them thuoghts it occupies like 15% of the day..

fo real if thre is any phsycologist on this board who can help a nigga halla back(for free)

Mcminister wrote:but i stay being paranoid...goin thru alot of beef and near death experiences that some were caused by close frends makes me feel like paranoid that someone is gon smoke me everywhere i go, soemtimes i cant even party tht good in the club coz i feel like someone who i roughed up way back mite be there or somthin.....wen i have a grill people who try to mad dawg me i feel like they gon come back n pop at me....n i feel like everytime i fight a nigga he gon wana kill me......but ow im better off since i moved to Htown

ive seen alot of dead bodies and alot of people in my family died off diseases n shit...so everytime i get sick i feel like ima die or somthin. but its not that bad..them thuoghts it occupies like 15% of the day..

fo real if thre is any phsycologist on this board who can help a nigga halla back(for free)

Serious events have happened to you, may not be PTSD, but serious nonethe less. You may benefit from a counselor that you connect with. Not all couselors click with all people, so it's very important that you hook up with someone that you fell comfortable with, so you'll be able to really open up, and get some things off your chest, and free up your mind.

You can try going to schools and colleges for therapist. They may have a free or super low cost deal going on. Therapist/couselors to consider: Marriage Family Child Counselor or MFT/MFCC. Licensed Clinical Social Worker LCSW or a Psychologist - Ph.D

Check out schools for these professionals and they should be able to tell you where to go. If you get stuck, hit me back, and I'll direct you elsewhere.